Meter support



Oct. 12, 1954 2,691,693

M. J. LEWIS METER SUPPORT Filed Nov. 16, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet l M- J. LEWIS METER SUPPORT Oct. 12, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 16, 1950 INVENTOR Morgan il smza.

Patented Oct. 12, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Morgan if zfvfis lfi ia liifihia, Pa.

Application November 16, 1950, Serial No. 195,936

3 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to supports for electric meters.

A purpose of the inventionis 'to facilitate the construction of an electric meter support by making the trough form a unitary U-shaped portion having a rear wall, side walls, inwardly directed flanges at the front and guideways at the insides of the side walls adjoining the front and inside the flanges, to mount an upper front portion containing the upper half of the socket ring in the space between the flanges and the guideways and to make the lower front portion containing the lower half of the socket ring slidable in the space between the flanges and the guideways.

A further purpose is to close the top by a cap extending over the trough and upper front portion.

A further purpose is to make the box from a separate element having an open top which connects suitably by flanges to the trough.

A further purpose is to provide connector strips from the back of the jaw contacts which extend out to the side or preferably to a position below the jaw contacts and then extend abruptly outwardly and to unite these connector strips by test nuts to terminals secured thereto.

Further purposes appear in the specification and in the claims.

In the drawings I have chosen to illustrate one only of the numerous embodiments in which my invention may appear, selecting the forms shown from the standpoints of convenience in illustration, satisfactory operation and clear demonstration of the principles involved.

Figure 1 is a perspective of a meter trough and box in accordance with the invention, to which a meter has been applied.

Figure 2 is a detached perspective of the meter trough and box with the cover removed.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary exploded perspective of the meter trough and box in the process of assembly.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary front elevation of the meter trough and box from which the jaw contacts and the insulation block have been removed.

Figure 5 is a section on the line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 66 of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a section on the line 1-'! of Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a section on the line 88 of Figure 4.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary left end elevation of Figure 4.

Figure 10 is a section through the jaw contacts and insulation block on the line Ill-10 of Figure 11.

Figure 11 is a bottom plan view of the insulation block of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is a section through a test nut on the line l2-|2 of Figure 10.

Describing in illustration but not in limitation and referring to the drawings:

The present application comprises a further 2 development of the subject matter of application serial No. 108,681, filed August 5, 1949, for Meter Troughs and Boxes.

In accordance with the present invention, the construction of the trough and box has been simplified and rendered less expensive, while improved guiding has been provided for the sliding lower cover and also for the fixed upper front cover.

The cap has been separated from the trough and improved attachment to the trough is provided. The box is separate from the trough, and the two are radially joined together by flanges.

Improved accessibility of test nuts is provided without the necessity of removing the meter. Thus any one or more of the terminals can be disconnected from the jaw contacts without physically removing the meter.

As shown in Figure 1, the support of the invention comprises a trough 20 which supports an electric watt-hour meter 21 and connects to a lower terminal box 22. The trough as well shown in Figure 3 is a unitary U-shaped sheet metal component having a back wall 23, side walls 24 and inwardly directed flanges 25 along the front edge. The top, bottom and front are open. Inside the side walls near the front and behind the flanges 25 are sheet metal guideways 2E suitably of angle formation secured to the insides of the side walls 24 as by spot welding. Thus there is a guide space between the flanges 25 and guideways 26. Pads 21 are provided at the back for mounting of the insulating block to be described, the pads having suitable screw openings. An opening 28 is also provided for mounting on the wall.

An upper front portion 30, also suitably of sheet metal, is provided having at its lower edge a segment 3| (suitably half) of the socket ring desirably formed integral with the upper front portion. The socket ring has the usual external flange 32, creating a channel shape which is capable of locking to the meter by the usual meter clamping ring which engages the socket ring and. the meter ring 3| on the meter. The upper edge 33 of the upper front portion is suitably upwardly curved toward the middle to conform with the curvature 34 at the upper edge of the back of the trough. The upper front portion fits between the side walls 24 of the trough immediately inside of the flanges 25 and suitably immediately outside of the guideways 28 at the lower portion and is united to the trough as by spot welding through the flanges .25.

A suitably arched cap 35 has flanges 35 downwardly extending all around, and the cap fits over the outsides of the back and sidewalls of the trough and the upper front portion 313 and is united thereto as by spot welding around the flanges 36.

The box 22 is made from sheet metal, and has a back 31, a bottom '38 a left hand top portion 40 and a right hand top portion M. The top portions 40 and 4| are separated by an open space 42 (best seen in Figure 3) and at either side of the open space the top portions are upwardly flanged at 43 to engage and connect as by spot welding with the sides 24 of the trough.

The top portions at the outer edge are downwardly flanged at 44. At the right hand side the top portion 4| is downwardly flanged at 45 and the front flange 44 at the right is slotted at 46 to permit access in sliding relation to the flange 45 from the front. At the right hand end the box is open at 4'! (Figure 3) and the back is outwardly flanged at 48, while the bottom is upwardly flanged at 58. The front of the bottom adjoining the flange 50 is notched at Over at the left of the box, the top portion 4| has a downwardly and reversely bent U-shaped flange 52. The hollow of the U is upwardly directed. The back is outwardly flanged at 55 and the bottom has an upwardly directed reversely bent flange 54, the hollow of the U facing downwardly. The flange 52 is cut back at the front at 55 and the flange 54 is cut back at the front at 56.

The bottom is slotted near the front at 57 at spaced points. Suitable knock-outs 58 are provided for insertion of conduits in the top wall 45, the bottom wall 38 and the back wall 3?. Openings 50 are provided in the back wall, one of which lines up with the opening 23 in the back of the trough, for mounting of the structure on the wall of a building or the like.

A skirt portion 5i extends downwardly from the back of the trough behind the back of the box and is joined thereto as by spot welding.

The boxes are capable of use singly or in sets joined side to side as later explained. When used singly or without interconnection with another box at the right side, the right side opening 4'2 is closed by a side closure 52 which removably fits in the side flanges 45 and 55. The side closure is flanged at the top at (53 and at the front at 64. The top flange 63 is bent down over the front flange for a short distance at 55, and immediately below this point the flange 54 is slotted at 65 to pass the flan e 45 of the top portion 4| of the box. At the top beneath the flange 53 and spaced therefrom on the inside is an interlock channel (57 suitably joined to the side 62 as by spot welding and presenting an upwardly directed slot for engagement with a downwardly directed flange 45. Similarly at the bottom on the inside of the side 52 is a downwardly directed interlock guideway 58 presenting a downwardly directed slot which slidably interlocks with the upwardly directed flange The guideways 6'! and 68 are short enough at the inner end so as to clear the flange 48 when the structure is interlocked. A knockout 15 is provided in the side wall 62 for engagement with a conduit.

At the left side the box has an open space "5| which is closed by side closure 12 when not interlocked with another box to make a series. The side closure is an opposite counterpart of the right side closure and is equipped to engage in the reversely bent flanges 52 and 54. At the top there is a reversely bent flange 13 on the side closure which forms a downwardly directed slot for receiving the upwardly extending flange portion of the reversely bent flange 52. At the bottom there is a reversely bent flange portion 14 on the side closure 72 which presents an upwardly directed slot for engagement in the slot of the downwardly directed flange portion of the reversely bent flange 54.

The upwardly directed slot of the reversely bent flange portion 52 at the top is covered by a strip 15 united as by spot welding to the top of the side closure 72 and bent downwardly at 15 over the front. The side closure 1'2 is provided with a knockout H for receiving a conduit.

The box and the lower part of the trough is covered by a removable cover 18 which has guiding portions on either side near the upper end which guide under inwardly directed flanges 25 and over guideways 25 of the trough. At the upper end the cover 80 carries suitably integrally therewith lower socket ring segmental portion 8|. The segmental portion 8| is of the same cross section as the segmental portion 3| and with the segmental portion 3| completes the socket ring. Therefore if the upper segmental portion covers 180 the lower segment portion will cover the remaining 180. When the two segmental portions are brought together and locked by the locking ring to the meter, the socket ring is held in complete relationship and the cover is also held both against motion to separate the parts of the socket ring and also against motion away from the trough and box due to the engagement of the guiding portions 35 behind the flanges 25 and in front of the guideways 26.

At the bottom the cover 18 has an inwardly directed flange 82 which has upwardly directed tongues 83 engaging in the slots 5i in the bottom of the box and locking the lower end of the cover against being pried outwardly away from the box. In closed position the cover engages behind flanges 44 at the top.

The cover is equipped to be laterally interlocked with the covers of adjoining boxes. Thus at the right hand side it has an inner guideway 34 (Figure 3) which provides a slot which can receive the left hand guiding tongue 85 of the next box. The tongue is slightly deformed toward the box to fit the slot provided by the guideway 84.

In assembling the cap 35 on the upper front portion, it is desirable to brace the inside of the upper front portion by an angle 85 (Figure 6) which runs along the inside of the front of the cap and is spot welded or otherwise suitably joined to the cap and the upper front portion.

The meter trough contacts which cooperate with the usual meter knife contacts desirably comprise jaw contacts 8'5 mounted suitably in rectangular relationship to correspond with the positions of the knife contacts. The jaw contacts are mounted on an insulating block 88 by studs passing through openings 9| in the block and having nuts 92 threaded on the studs inside the jaw contacts.

The studs at the rear connect with metallic contact strips 93 in slots 24 of the insulating block which extend out into the box through openings 95 at the lower edge of the insulating block and then have generally outwardly or transversely extending portions 96 which are preferably slightly reversely bent and inclined along a lower inclined face 9'! of the block. As seen in Figure 2 the various reverse bent portions of the respective contacts are side by side so that access to them can be gained separately.

An insulating strip 98 extends over the lower face of each outwardly bent portion of the contact strips and on the lower side of the insulating strip a generally parallel metallic terminal strip IE0 is mounted, physically secured to the strip portion 96 but capable of electric insulation as later explained. The terminal strip portion I on certain lines has a transversely bent portion at l0! which extends in prolongation of the connector strip portion 93. Certain of the terminal strip portions ill! have reverse bends I82 to separate downwardly extending portions I83 farther from adjoining terminals. The depending portions i9! and I93 have terminal clamping members I94 which are tightened in position to engage the lead-in wires by clamping bolts [05.

The portion 96 of the connecting strip is physically united to the portion :66 of the terminal by a screw Hi6 which has insulating washers I97 under the head and passes through enlarged insulating-bushed opening [81" free from electrical connection with the terminal and by a bolt [96 which has insulating washers H8 under the nut and passes through enlarged insulating-hushed opening H9 in the terminal portion I09 so as to be free from electric connection. Electrical connection is accomplished by a test nut ill on a test bolt 1 l2 which is threaded into the connecting strip portion 96 and has insulating bushing l 13 around the position at which the bolt passes through the terminal portion Hi9. Accordingly contact is only made when the nut l i I is screwed down tight, and when any one of the nuts is partially unscrewed electrical contact ceases on that particular line.

An optional jaw contact I M is provided between two of the normal jaw contacts with a suitable terminal M5 for any special purpose as desired. This may connect to a special contact on the meter or may be specially wired for an electric clock circuit.

A ground connection is provided at I 16 as well known for grounding the trough and box.

In operation it will be understood that the components are assembled to make the box by sliding the upper front portion of the socket ring into position and spot welding it into place, then applying and spot welding the cap 35, and finally joining the trough to the box. The insulating block and its contacts and terminals are then installed into place, after which the side closures are fitted in and the front is slid on in the position shown, locking the side closures by covering their ends. For installation purposes the front is removed and the side closures are removed if connection is to be made to other boxes. Other boxes are then slid into mating relationship, and the electrical wiring is completed to the terminals. The end boxes of the series retain side closures on the respective sides. The sliding on of the cover locks the boxes on either side, and the locking of the locking ring around the socket ring and the meter ring holds the removable cover in place on the trough and the box.

When the meter is to be tested, it need not be removed. The locking ring it released and the meter remains in place while the cover is taken off exposing the terminals. The test nuts are then unscrewed as required, permitting separation of individual terminals from the corresponding jaw contacts of the socket. Test connections can be made to bolts I08, without connecting to the terminals, since each of the bolts IE8 is insulated from the corresponding terminal.

In this way testing can be carried on without difficulty and without breaking the service of the subscriber.

In view of my invention and disclosure, variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art to obtain all or part 6 of the benefits of my invention, without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claim all such insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a meter support, a unitary U-shaped trough comprising a back wall, side walls, a front, and inwardly directed flanges at the front, guideways secured to the interior of the side walls near the front out behind the inwardly directed flanges, an upper front portion including half of a meter socket ring secured to the upper portion of the front of the trough, a cap secured to the trough and extending over the top thereof, a box having an. open top and an open front, joined around the edges of the open top to the bottom of the trough, and a lower front portion including a cooperating half of the meter socket ring extending into the space between the inwardly directed flanges and the guideways at the front of the trough and covering the front of the box.

2. In a meter support, a U-shaped unitary trough having a rear wall, side walls and inwardly directed flanges at the front, guideways on the inside of the side walls near the front but behind the inwardly directed flanges, an upper front portion secured to the upper portion of the inwardly directed flanges and having a half segment portion of a socket ring, a cap secured to the trough and extending over the otherwise open top thereof, a box having a back, top portions at either side with an open intermediate portion provided with flanges secured to the side walls of the trough, a bottom wall and side walls, and a removable lower front portion covering the front of the box, having a lower half of the socket ring and extending in slidable relation with the upper half of the socket ring into the space between the inwardly directed flanges and the guideways.

3. In a meter box, a U-shaped unitary trough having a rear wall, side walls and inwardly directed flanges at the front, guideways on the inside of the side walls near the front but behind the inwardly directed flanges, an upper front portion secured to the upper portion of the inwardly directed flanges and having a half segment portion of a socket ring, a cap secured to the trough and extending over the otherwise open top thereof, a box having a back, top portions at either side with an open intermediate portion provided with flanges secured to the side walls of the trough, a bottom wall and side Walls, and a lower front portion covering the front of the box, having a lower half of the socket ring and extending in slidable relation with the upper half of the socket ring into the space between the inwardly directed flanges and the guideways, the sides of the box being removable and provided with interlocks for connecting to adjoining boxes on either side.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 916,537 Davis Mar. 30, 1909 1,493,478 Dake May 13, 1924 1,631,606 Scott et al. June 7, 1927 2,402,360 Bevins June 18, 1946 2,429,093 Johansson Oct. 14, 1947 2,436,914 Breisch Mar. 2, 1948 2,474,328 Rothfuchs June 28, 1949 2,538,912 Road et al. Jan. 23, 1951 2,582,638 Lewis Jan. 15, 1952 

